Stellantis global sales down, but profits still high

Stellantis reported that global sales of 1.3 million vehicles, down by 10% “reflecting … actions… to prepare for [a] new product wave in H2 2024.” Battery-electric rose by 8% and low-emissions vehicles sales rose by 13% compared with Q1 2023.

The company reiterated its €3 billion share buyback scheme as Stellantis has been laying off workers in France, Italy, and North America; in the United States, the company has been going through plant by plant to find savings. Other cutbacks have angered suppliers.

The company also found enough cash to buy SteerLight, maker of low-cost LiDAR, and Tiamat, which develops sodium-ion technology which does not use lithium or cobalt. Low-cost LiDAR is essential for self-driving, while sodium-ion batteries could be a game-changer in automotive and helpful for utility scale storage.

Stellantis announced a record €5.6 billion five-year investment plan in South America, which includes launching 40 new products, developing new Bio-Hybrid technologies, decarbonizing.

The company approved an ordinary dividend of €1.55 per share to be paid next week, based on net revenues of €42 billion, down 12% from Q1 2023.

Two regions grew—MEA (Middle East and Africa), up by 23%, and Enlarged Europe, up by 6%, compared with Q1 2023. In North America, PHEV sales grew by 79% thanks mainly to the Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, and Hornet.

The report is the first inkling of the Indiana Transmission Plant’s production start on electric drive modules. North American battery plants have not yet started production. In Europe, in-house hydrogen fuel cell van production rose. A new 2.2 liter Multijet 4.0 diesel engine started up in Italy, and a joint venture started building electrified dual-clutch transmission in Turin.

The company’s use of AI for aerodynamic simulations started; Stellantis claims it can cut cost by over 85% while having better assessments. The company is also the first to integrate Chat GPT with a new travel assistant in DS and Peugeot cars.